Minister of Public Works and Transport in the caretaker government, Dr. Ali Hamieh, held a meeting in his office with a delegation from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), led by the resident representative Melanie Havenstein. The discussion focused on the "Lebanon Sustainable Low-emission Transport Systems" project and various strategic initiatives related to public transport, as well as establishing a trial public transport line that relies on low-emission renewable energy sources in the public transport sector, without using fuel-based means between Beirut, Jbeil, and Tripoli.
Minister Hamieh welcomed the delegation and emphasized his openness to all international institutions supporting Lebanon, including the UNDP. He stressed that "Lebanon's interest lies in reforms," and that their work with UNDP experts can help in preparing new laws, regulations, and controls that aid in the reform efforts. He posed a question to the delegation: "Do the studies prepared by the UN programme before 2019 apply to Lebanon today? Of course not, so let’s together outline our priorities."
Hamieh expressed his readiness to cooperate in devising a new framework for all projects that directly address the needs of the people and pertain to the ministry's responsibilities. He mentioned the importance of strategic projects that position Lebanon on the political map of the region and the need to work together on preparing a new legal framework for public-private partnerships, where the state acts as the regulator and the private sector as the operator, ensuring integrated work between both sectors to enhance and strengthen the role of the private sector, as the state cannot provide transportation across all of Lebanon without the private sector. He confirmed, "This is the solution regarding transportation."
Hamieh instructed the relevant ministry officials to collaborate and coordinate with UNDP to successfully implement this initiative, which will serve as a foundation for promoting public transport sectors using renewable energy.
